Slimline 5 portable set up for RV use

[lonotes]

My portable setup for my RV looks like the photo included here.

The problem that I'm experiencing is that when adjusting the dish with a meter (Acutrac 22 Mk II Pro), the 119 readings are all around 70-80. But on the receiver they are all zero. All other sats show in the upper 90's. At home, I have a SL5 dish mounted on a permanent mast. When connected to that dish, the 119 readings on the rcvr are all in the upper 90's. Now here's the catch, even with the portable rig set up right next to the permanent one, and all adjustments identical between them, the portable dish still shows zeros on the rcvr. Put the handheld meter on the line and it shows in the 70-80 range. The only sat that gives me problems is 119. What could account for this difference, and how do I overcome it? I appear to have no problem receiving all of the channels, but occasionally I get a message saying that program guide data has been unable to download for a period of time. I hope I've been able to make sense, and thank everyone in advance for your help.

 

[dfergie]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys! I like that tripod... what I use is a Phase III dish with the SL5 LNB with good results (easier to aim) not sure why you are getting the loss of 119 unless the LNB for that is not working...

 

[Jimbo]

lonotes,
Do you know if your watching anything that actually comes from the 119 Sat ?

Chances are, your NOT, because you have the 119 set up, the guide uses the 119 to gather data ...
I believe if you only used a 3 LNB set up the guide then comes from the 101 and you no longer have the issue of it not loading properly.

 

[lonotes]

lonotes,
Do you know if your watching anything that actually comes from the 119 Sat ?

Chances are, your NOT, because you have the 119 set up, the guide uses the 119 to gather data ...
I believe if you only used a 3 LNB set up the guide then comes from the 101 and you no longer have the issue of it not loading properly.

Although I certainly may be wrong, I was under the impression that the HD channels were on 119. It's difficult sometimes to get good information from DirecTV CSR's. The catch 22 is that they want to send a tech, but since I'm not currently at home, they can't send a tech. I bought the SL5 based on recommendation from DirecTV. Argh, this is frustrating. What would explain the drastic difference between the handheld meter readings and the receiver meter readings?

 

[kjlued]

If you tune the dish properly on the 101, all other satellites will fall in place.

First, get your settings for your zip code through the receiver.
Set your meter to the 101 and peak your dish on the 101.
Now, go to your elevation adjustment on the left and turn it clockwise 2 full turns.
Take a reading.
Then turn the adjustment clockwise counting the turns until you get the same reading.
Divide the number of turns by 2 and turn it counter clockwise that many times.
Repeat those steps with the Azimuth adjustment on the right (you might want to use 3 turns instead of 2).

If that does not work, then try these steps.

Swap LNBs between dishes as the LNB could be bad and this will tell you.
Swap the dish itself (just the part that bolts to the back assembly) as the dish could be warped (even though you don't see it).

Also, keep in mind that the 119 is to the far right much lower then other satellites so just because you are pulling in others easily it does not mean that tree to the right is not blocking it.

 

[lonotes]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys! I like that tripod... what I use is a Phase III dish with the SL5 LNB with good results (easier to aim) not sure why you are getting the loss of 119 unless the LNB for that is not working...

Thanks. The tripod was originally part of a mobile set up for a HughesNet dish. A couple of years ago I switched from Hughes to a Sprint card. The tripod just lived in the shed for a couple of years. I did have to buy a different offset arm for the SL5 to fit. It makes for a very stable platform that is a snap to level and plumb. I don't know that I would want to try it, but the company that I bought it from said that they have had that setup (with the Hughes dish) withstand 70mph winds, untethered.

 

[Jimbo]

Although I certainly may be wrong, I was under the impression that the HD channels were on 119. It's difficult sometimes to get good information from DirecTV CSR's.

I don't believe there are ANY HD channels coming off the 119, The core programming for D* comes off the 101 and the HD comes off the 99 and 103 Sats.

 

[lonotes]

I don't believe there are ANY HD channels coming off the 119, The core programming for D* comes off the 101 and the HD comes off the 99 and 103 Sats.

Thanks for that info. Latest update; last night I received messages about no guide data again. Since I am currently about 150 miles away from home, swapping lnb heads with my permanent mounted antenna isn't in the cards right now. So, reading between the lines of the earlier responses, I reconfigured my receiver to read a SL3 antenna. This is only temporary, as I intend to replace either the lnb or the entire antenna once I return home. So far everything seems to be working just fine. No searching for signal messages and no guide data messages. Is there any way to check the lnb to see if it is faulty, other than swapping it with a known good one? Is running the wrong config going to cause problems?

 

[kjlued]

Running a config lesser then the the actual set up will not.
However, the other way around can.

Basically, you can take a box on a slimline5 and set it for 18" and be fine, but the other way around could cause issues.

As far as testing the LNB, field testing would involve putting a meter on it and setting the meter to read the 119 and seing if it gets anything.
Or swapping it out and seeing what happens.
Other then that, not a whole lot of testing.

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks for that info. Latest update; last night I received messages about no guide data again. Since I am currently about 150 miles away from home, swapping lnb heads with my permanent mounted antenna isn't in the cards right now. So, reading between the lines of the earlier responses, I reconfigured my receiver to read a SL3 antenna. This is only temporary, as I intend to replace either the lnb or the entire antenna once I return home. So far everything seems to be working just fine. No searching for signal messages and no guide data messages. Is there any way to check the lnb to see if it is faulty, other than swapping it with a known good one? Is running the wrong config going to cause problems?

You did the right thing as far as a temp. situation ....
As long as your set for only the 3 lnb set up, you won't have issues with loading the guide, the system now doesn't know you have a 5 lnb set up and the guide info is coming off the 101...
I really don't know why they ever moved it off the 101 as thats the core programming and the guide would alwatys be downloaded on the 101.
Maybe someone else can answer why it's on the 119 if your using a 5 LNB set up.

 

[Hyinthesky]

Please try to keep the answer to this dumbed down here because I know squat about any of this stuff. I just purchased a SL5 to use with my HR-24. Can I just run RG6 to both tuners on the dvr and go with it or wil need BBC or powered splitter thing? Duh...

 

[Jimbo]

Please try to keep the answer to this dumbed down here because I know squat about any of this stuff. I just purchased a SL5 to use with my HR-24. Can I just run RG6 to both tuners on the dvr and go with it or wil need BBC or powered splitter thing? Duh...

You have people answering your question in the THREAD you started, try to keep your questions all in the same place, it's easier to work with, Why did you start a separate thread and ask the same thing here (2 minutes apart no less ?)?